


The ’Burbs (1989): My Thoughts

by KaibaSlaveGirl34



Series: The Two Coreys [16]
Category: Original Work, The ’Burbs (1989)
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Diary/Journal, Epistolary, F/M, Inspiration, Neighbors, POV First Person, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Tumblr: otpprompts, Wordcount: Under 10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaibaSlaveGirl34/pseuds/KaibaSlaveGirl34
Summary: An original character’s thoughts on the 1989 filmThe ’Burbs..
Relationships: Bonnie Rumsfield/Mark Rumsfield, Carol Peterson/Ray Peterson
Series: The Two Coreys [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/4617
Comments: 2





	The ’Burbs (1989): My Thoughts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Harry2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harry2/gifts).



> Disclaimer: The geniuses at Universal Pictures own the film The ’Burbs. I own the fanfics that I cook up from time to time.

**The ’Burbs (1989): My Thoughts**

Picture this. You live in the suburbs, and there are rumors swirling around the new neighbors. When an elderly neighbor disappears, suspicion falls on the new neighbors, and it seems as though a mystery is afoot.

Well, that’s exactly what happens to Ray Peterson in the 1989 film **The ’Burbs**.

* * *

_Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) awakens one night to investigate a strange light coming from his new neighbor’s basement, but is pushed back by a strong wind. He notices someone watching him from an upstairs window and retreats into his house._

_The next morning, Ray observes as “Queenie,” a small poodle owned by the elderly and grouchy Walter Selznick (Gale Gordon), excretes on the lawn belonging to Lieutenant Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern), while teenage neighbor Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman) prepares to paint his house. Rumsfield and his much younger wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal) emerge from their home and run an American flag up their flagpole. Ricky calls for Lt. Rumsfield to be careful, but he is too late; the older man steps in the pile of dog droppings and screams vengeance on the dog._

_Over breakfast, Ray’s wife, Carol (Carrie Fisher), bemoans the fact that Ray is staying home for his vacation instead of going to their lake house for a fishing trip. Another neighbor, the overweight and immature Art Weingartner (Rick Duncommun), stops by and begins gossiping about the cul-de-sac’s new residents, the Klopeks, whose previous home supposedly burned down in a fire. Ray’s young son, Dave (Cory Danziger), claims that he saw the family of three digging in the backyard late at night. After breakfast, Art and Ray dare each other to visit the Klopeks’ house. Realizing all the neighbors are watching them, they climb the porch stairs and bang the doorknocker. A porch light falls, and a swarm of hornets chase them across the street._

_That night, Ray joins Art and Ricky on the porch of Ricky’s house to drink a few beers while his parents are away. Art tells Ricky and Ray a story about a man named Skip who worked at a soda fountain where the big mall now stands; he murdered his family in their town, and was caught because a heat wave caused the bodies to decompose, creating a hideous smell. Ray confirms the story, saying that he remembers hearing about that when he was a kid, and that the soda fountain was torn down that fall; he wonders what their new neighbors are doing in their cellar._

_Later, Art and Rumsfield join Ray in spying on the Klopek house; they use an infrared scope to spy on the Klopecks. A loud hum emanates from the cellar as a shock of lightning strikes the rooftop, causing the other lights in the neighborhood to dim out. A smell that Rumsfield describes as “a burning cat” permeates the air. They hide as the Klopeks’ garage door opens, and the freakish teenage Hans Klopeck (Courtney Gaines) drives his car to the curb, removes a large plastic bag, and stuffs it into a trash can. It begins to rain, so the men decide to wait to dig through the garbage. As the storm intensifies, Ray watches from his bedroom as the three Klopeks — Hans, Werner and Rubin — dig a hole in their backyard._

_When a trash truck appears the next morning containing two bickering garbage men (Dick Miller and Robert Picardo), Art and Rumsfield snatch Klopeks’ waste from the compactor and strew it across the ground, but do not find anything unusual. Art theorizes that the Klopeks spotted them and buried the body to hide the evidence. After the two garbage men leave, Bonnie notices Walter’s dog Queenie running loose, and assumes that Walter must have left and forgot to feed his dog._

_Later that afternoon, Ray, Art, Ricky, Mark and Bonnie go to return the dog to Walter. When no one responds to their knock, Rumsfield breaks into the house and discovers the television has been left on all night and a chair overturned. They grow concerned when they discover Walter’s toupee in the kitchen. Art breaks a knick-knack, causing Ray to order everyone out of the house. He unconsciously puts Walter’s toupee in his pocket and leaves a note telling Walter he has Queenie. He slips it and the toupee into the mail slot, and notices someone in the Klopecks’ house watching him: an old man (Brother Theodore). Ray calls out to him, but the old man closes the window._

_That evening, Art talks with Ray in the basement of Ray’s house where he tells the skeptic Ray that the Klopeks might have murdered Walter and that they might be practicing satanists. Art presents Ray with a book all about the occult; Ray then shows it to Carol, who also voices her skepticism. That night, Ray has a nightmare about being accosted by the Klopeks and being made into a human sacrifice._

_The next day, Art and Mark Rumsfield run to the Klopek house and slip a note under the front door. Art then tells Ray about him and Rumsfield’s act with the note reading, “I know what you’ve done.” Ray frets and panics that the Klopeks will think he did it because one of the Klopeks saw him slip a note under Walter’s front door the previous day. While Ray and Art are arguing, Ray’s dog Vince arrives, carrying a human femur bone. They realize Vince dug it up in the Klopeks’ yard. Just then, Art’s note is tossed into Ray’s yard, causing him to panic. He runs into the screen door just as Carol storms out._

_After Ray tells what Art and Mark did, Carol then frets, claiming she has had enough of the men’s childish behavior and demands they simply introduce themselves; Art, being the immature of the group, is not invited. Carol, Ray, Mark and Bonnie walk over the Klopek house where Hans Klopek answers the door, and reluctantly lets them inside to meet his Uncle Ruben. They sit in awkward silence while Hans makes coffee. While Carol, Bonnie and Mark look on, Ray is extremely nervous, thinking that the Klopeks might do something to him now that he is in their home._

_Ray complains about the neighborhood drainage problems and suggests they check the Klopeks’ cellar for moisture. Before Ruben can answer, Dr. Werner Klopek (Henry Gibson) emerges from the basement wearing a rubber apron, wiping what looks like blood off his hands, but explains it is only red paint. Over tea, Werner plays the perfect host, explaining that he is a practicing pathologist currently on sabbatical from a local university, and that his older brother Ruben and their nephew Hans travel from state to state when Werner’s job takes him to other colleges to teach. Werner claims that his teaching at the local university requires him to move frequently, and that he is already planning to look for a new house the next day. When Mark suddenly asks the Klopeks what secrets they have hiding in the basement, the panicked Ray spills hot coffee on his lap and rushes off to find a bathroom. Instead, he opens the basement door and releases a Great Dane. The dog smashes through a screen door, spots Art (who has sneaked into the backyard) and chases him over the fence, which sets off an alarm. This brings the visit to a quick end, and Carol, Bonnie, Mark and Ray leave._

_Later, the neighbors regroup at Ray’s house; Carol and Bonnie think that the Klopeks appear odd, while Mark and Art think that they are psychos. When all of them ask Ray (who is now strangely calm since arriving back from the Klopek house) of his opinion, Ray says that the Klopeks seem “alright.” However, once the women leave, Ray calls Art and Mark into the study to privately talk with them. There, Ray pulls Walter’s toupee from his shorts. He states he left it at Walter’s house yesterday, but found it at the Klopeks’ in a pile of magazines addressed to Walter. Ray now vows to search the Klopek house to find Walter’s dead body: “Nobody knocks off an old man in my neighborhood and gets away with it.”_

_The next morning, Carol takes Dave to visit her sister Evelyn and Dave’s cousins, Rudy and Diane (which Dave doesn’t take a liking to one bit), while Ray stays behind, claiming that he and Art are going to have a day of playing golf; Carol is clearly suspicious to Ray’s sudden change in behavior, but she leaves anyway. The minute that Carol leaves, Ray, Art and Mark spring into action. When the Klopeks leave their house, Art dresses up as a maintenance man and scales a utility pole to cut the power lines, disabling any alarms. He clips a wire, and the electrical charge hurls him into an old tool shed, causing a blackout throughout the neighborhood. Hearing the disturbance, Ricky sees Mark, now dressed in military fatigues, climbing onto Ray’s roof to maintain a lookout; with that, Ricky calls his friends to come over and watch the fun._

_After hours of digging up the backyard, Art suggests they search the house. Ray breaks a window and they descend to the basement, where they find a commercial blast furnace. When Ray turns it on, the noise startles Rumsfield, who falls off the roof and discharges his rifle, shooting out a car window. Convinced that bodies are buried under the cellar’s dirt floor, Ray begins to dig._

_That night, the Klopeks return to see the glow of the furnace coming from their cellar; they turn off their headlights and drive away. When Ray hits something metallic, Art radios Rumsfield, claiming that they have found Walter and runs out of the house. Just then, Walter arrives home, and the Klopeks return with the police. Rumsfield attempts to alert Ray that Walter is still alive, but Ray is still frantically digging and doesn’t hear his warning. Out on the street, Ricky and Art see the Klopeks returning with the police. Art tells Ricky to stall them while he gets Ray out of the Klopek house; Ricky is forced to literally jump on the hood of the policeman’s car._

_Art races to the cellar to warn Ray to leave just as Ray declares he has hit a gas line and the whole basement is flooding with methane gas. Art barely escapes the house before the furnace flames ignite the gas. He despairs that Ray is dead, but his friend limps out of the burning ruin with half his hair singed off._

_Later, Carol returns to find Ray bandaged and under arrest. Nearby, Art talks with a police detective (Franklyn Ajay), who tells him that Walter actually suffered a heart attack the night he vanished, in which he managed to call his daughter and son-in-law, who took him to the hospital for treatment. The reason why Walter’s toupee was found in the Klopeks’ house is that Werner Klopek is a famous pathologist who was collecting mail for Walter while Walter was in the hospital; Ray realizes Werner must have picked up the toupee while collecting the mail, and concludes their paranoid suspicions were unwarranted. When Art mentions that someday police will find a body buried in the backyard, Ray loses his temper and tries to strangle him before hurling a gurney into an ambulance; he jumps inside and demands to be taken to the hospital._

_While Ray is in the ambulance, Werner climbs in with him, and Ray apologizes. Much to his surprise, however, Werner accuses Ray of finding skulls hidden in the furnace, and explains that he had murdered the previous tenants before moving in; Ray then sees that, along with confirming everyone’s suspicions, Werner’s words cause him to realize Art had been right about the Klopeks the whole time._

_Ray looks up to see Hans is behind the wheel. Before he can scream, Werner pulls out a syringe and Hans drives away. Ray pushes Werner into Hans, who loses control of the vehicle and smashes into Art’s house through the front door. The back doors spring open and the crowd sees Ray and Werner fighting as the gurney rolls down the road and into the Klopeks’ car, causing the trunk to pop open. Declaring a “citizen’s arrest,” Ray knocks the syringe from Werner’s hand; Ricky discovers several skulls and bones in the car trunk, and police arrest the Klopeks._

_Ray puts his arm around Carol and tells her he wants to go to the lake to spend his last few vacation days with her. As Art musses about the media attention the neighborhood will receive, Mark and Bonnie yell to him that his house is on fire from the ambulance stuck in the front door, and that Art’s wife has just returned from her vacation to visit her parents. Art is horrified and distraught at hearing that his wife is home._

_As the fire trucks return to put out the fire at Art’s house, Ray returns to his house with Carol. Ray passes by Ricky and instructs him to keep an eye on the neighborhood, and Ricky accepts, saying he will._

_In the final shot, Ricky breaks the fourth wall by turning to the camera and saying to the viewers, “God, I love this street!”_

* * *

From my perspective, Corey Feldman sure delivers an amazing performance as Ricky Butler in this film, and it shines through him too. Plus, I highly recommend this film, and I give it two thumbs up as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Nice feedback is very much appreciated, of course.. :)


End file.
